QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Redondo Beach, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Redondo Beach in the 24 hours to 3:16 am PST (11:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 20 km (12 mi) ESE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Redondo Beach

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Redondo Beach, CA, at 2:27 pm PDT on 6 May 2020 (21:27 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 0km ESE of Redondo Beach, CA

19 km (12 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · in Redondo Beach, CA

2:27 pm PDT, May 6, 2020 · · 11 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Redondo Beach Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 40 kmOrange County 59 kmVentura County 89 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:27 pm PDT on 6 May 2020 ()
Where
in Redondo Beach, CA · earthquakes near Redondo Beach
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 40 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes fault, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2379 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Lawndale, Alondra Park.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 43 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 37 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 20 km NNW of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 33.8475, -118.3852. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 40 km (25 mi) NNE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 59 km (37 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 89 km (55 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 5km SSW of MacArthur Park, CA
  2. 2.6 4km SSW of Westminster, CA
  3. 1.8 1km ESE of Century City, CA
  4. 1.6 3km SE of Garden Grove, CA
  5. 1.6 3km SE of Garden Grove, CA
  6. 1.5 1km WNW of San Fernando, CA
  7. 1.8 1km NW of San Fernando, CA
  8. 1.6 1km WNW of San Fernando, CA
  9. 1.7 0km NNW of San Fernando, CA
  10. 3.7 1km NNE of San Fernando, CA
  11. 1.8 14km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
  12. 1.6 10km S of Malibu Beach, CA
  13. 2.2 4km NNW of Santa Monica, CA
  14. 1.9 14km SSW of Huntington Beach, CA
  15. 1.8 1km W of Baldwin Park, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.